Brookvale Oval V AAMI Park

I went to Melbourne’s AAMI Stadium for the first time on Saturday. It is great looking stadium, architecturally speaking. The individual seating is comfortable and spectators are under cover. However, the high ticket prices surprised me. It was $60 for a side-on seat.
That makes sitting on the Hill at Brookie a bargain ... weather permitting, of course
For those of you who weren’t at the pre-match function some interesting news was shared about the proposed Brookie redevelopment. We are extremely unlikely to get any more from Governments until at least the next round of elections, so we need to spend the $10-Million Federal Government pledge quickly or risk losing it. The initial idea is to make a start by building a small stand (of around 1,400 seats, I believe) on the Hill that can be added to at each end when/if money becomes available.
We were told that the NRL has been informed about this option.
I always thought we should have a stand at the southern end of the ground but it was pointed out that premium prices can be charged for seats with side-on views.
As a lifelong fan without any inside knowledge it was heartening to hear from our football club administrators the same love and passion for Brookvale that we share. There are moves to have the oval administrated by a Trust, rather than the Council, which seems sensible to me. We are in good hands, but the road ahead will not be easy.
What was highlighted to me was our hand-to-mouth existence year-to-year. We are one of the battling NRL clubs, financially speaking. I really fear to think what would have happened had we not had so much on-field success over the years. Would we still be in the NRL had our team performed as poorly as Cronulla, Souths or Parramatta had over the past 30-40 years?

We desperately need to attract the C.C.M to play some A-league games at Brookie during summer. Will be the only way we'll get anymore cash for a decent stadium. As I posted before the game the clowns with whistles would influence the result because of the Storm's crowds and TV ratings slide in Melb especially with Ch nein having Storm on this Friday. Foxsports also need ratings in Victoria. Crowds sliding at AAMI park another reason.Nothing could have been more obvious.

13k were there on Saturday, which surprised me as Manly are the Team their Fans want to see beaten.
Although, the stats do show that they average around this figure year in year out.

AAMI is well catered for in transport, parking, corporate and seating for every Patron.

In a City of 2 million, with only one RL Team, the Scumos are not attracting the crowds :dodgy:

Thanks for the update re Brookie.
I reckon that Manly is again going for the high price ticket option, rather than increased numbers.
It amazes me that the lack of attendance leads to this solution. The 1,400 may remain empty with people choosing to continue to sit in the GA areas, or more likely, decide to stay at home :huh:

Putting up a roof would still see the Hill people there in droves, and the picnic atmosphere would be maintained.

13k were there on Saturday, which surprised me as Manly are the Team their Fans want to see beaten.

AAMI is well catered for in transport, parking, corporate and seating for every Patron.

In a City of 2 million, with only one RL Team, the Scumos are not attracting the crowds :dodgy:

Click to expand...

With the rain earlier in the day, I suspect it would've affected crowd numbers by 2-3K, but it suprises me how they are getting 20K regularly.

I reckon if there was better transport for Brookie, our crowd average would rise about 2k for the season
[hr]

The Who said:

What was highlighted to me was our hand-to-mouth existence year-to-year. We are one of the battling NRL clubs, financially speaking. I really fear to think what would have happened had we not had so much on-field success over the years. Would we still be in the NRL had our team performed as poorly as Cronulla, Souths or Parramatta had over the past 30-40 years?

Click to expand...

I've been thinking we should move a home game to Allianz on the Easter Weekend, getting a crowd of at least 25K would give us a few $$$.

Thanks for the update re Brookie.
I reckon that Manly is again going for the high price ticket option, rather than increased numbers.
It amazes me that the lack of attendance leads to this solution. The 1,400 may remain empty with people choosing to continue to sit in the GA areas, or more likely, decide to stay at home :huh:

Putting up a roof would still see the Hill people there in droves, and the picnic atmosphere would be maintained.

Click to expand...

In my opinion, I think we should aim at upgrading the Jane Try Stand first, adding at least another 1,000 seats there, maybe from the concourse up the the original stand.

Wasn't there a plan to extend the Try Stand down to the ground?
Maybe the roof extension is the engineering problem with that idea.

Corporates could be housed in a new Norther Stand, as they mainly go there to network and are not too fussed about 'side-view' of the actual game being played, so long as the Catering is happening :idea:

Wasn't there a plan to extend the Try Stand down to the ground?
Maybe the roof extension is the engineering problem with that idea.

Click to expand...

I don't understand why both the Fulton-Menzies and the Try stands can't have seating added to the front of them (replacing the walk-way and the GA benches), given they're both raised from ground level. That'd add a couple of thousand seats surely? Would massively improve the look & feel of the ground at the same time

Appreciate there'd be no roof cover - that'd be a much bigger project - but then how many stadiums' first 10-15 rows have rain protection from their roof anyway? None I reckon

I'd look at it differently. I'd not look to increase seats but I would look to increase corporates and cover.
RAised above the top of the hill you could put a row of corporate boxes from which a retractable roof over the hill could be mounted. It would provide cover from the rain for the hill and a sun shade for the corporates (which is the main reason corps are always on the western side). This would be so much cheaper than the other options being talked about.

I'd look at it differently. I'd not look to increase seats but I would look to increase corporates and cover.
RAised above the top of the hill you could put a row of corporate boxes from which a retractable roof over the hill could be mounted. It would provide cover from the rain for the hill and a sun shade for the corporates (which is the main reason corps are always on the western side). This would be so much cheaper than the other options being talked about.

Click to expand...

This seems to be the way the officials are thinking. It was clear that the $10-M comes with a 'use it or lose it' understanding, so we need to do something before too long. The idea of a 'Lego-type' stand that can be added to near the top of the Hill makes sense to me.

I'd look at it differently. I'd not look to increase seats but I would look to increase corporates and cover.
RAised above the top of the hill you could put a row of corporate boxes from which a retractable roof over the hill could be mounted. It would provide cover from the rain for the hill and a sun shade for the corporates (which is the main reason corps are always on the western side). This would be so much cheaper than the other options being talked about.

Click to expand...

This seems to be the way the officials are thinking. It was clear that the $10-M comes with a 'use it or lose it' understanding, so we need to do something before too long. The idea of a 'Lego-type' stand that can be added to near the top of the Hill makes sense to me.

Click to expand...

Love the lego idea, also we'd need to specify that the retractable roof is done with a remote control.

I've sat on the Hill for the past 50 seasons and in principle I agree. However, it is all about revenue. Wet weather on the last two Sundays at Brookie cost the club heaps. I think it was something like a difference of $100,000 from 2013 V Sharks on a sunny Sunday to this year.
Anyway, I'm sure the club will explain the reasons when appropriate.

I've sat on the Hill for the past 50 seasons and in principle I agree. However, it is all about revenue. Wet weather on the last two Sundays at Brookie cost the club heaps. I think it was something like a difference of $100,000 from 2013 V Sharks on a sunny Sunday to this year.
Anyway, I'm sure the club will explain the reasons when appropriate.

Click to expand...

This is why I've raised the proposition of boxes above the top of the hill with a retractable roof extending out to cover the hill.
No seats and no wet weather at a fraction of the cost, everyone wins. If this idea doesn't eventuate, people have agendas.